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Famous StoriesThe KingdomsThere was once a king of Prussia whose name was Frederick W... The Story Of William Tell The people of Swit-zer-land were not always free and happy ... The Brave Three Hundred All Greece was in danger. A mighty army, led by the great K... Pocahontas There was once a very brave man whose name was John Smith. ... The Black Douglas In Scotland, in the time of King Robert Bruce, there lived ... A Laconic Answer Many miles beyond Rome there was a famous country which we ... The White Ship King Henry, the Handsome Scholar, had one son, named Willia... The Sons Of William The Conqueror There was once a great king of England who was called Wil-l... Socrates And His House There once lived in Greece a very wise man whose name was S... He Never Smiled Again The bark that held the prince went down, The sweep... Bruce And The Spider There was once a king of Scot-land whose name was Robert Br... King Alfred And The Cakes Many years ago there lived in Eng-land a wise and good ... Other Wise Men Of Gotham One day, news was brought to Gotham that the king was comin... Antonio Canova A good many years ago there lived in Italy a little boy who... Mignon Here is the story of Mignon as I remember having read it in... The Endless Tale In the Far East there was a great king who had no work to d... Maximilian And The Goose Boy One summer day King Max-i-mil'ian of Ba-va'ri-a was walking... The Ungrateful Soldier Here is another story of the bat-tle-field, and it is much ... Casabianca There was a great battle at sea. One could hear nothing but... Androclus And The Lion In Rome there was once a poor slave whose name was An'dro-c... |
THE KINGDOMSThere was once a king of Prussia whose name was Frederick William. On a fine morning in June he went out alone to walk in the green woods. He was tired of the noise of the city, and he was glad to get away from it. So, as he walked among the trees, he often stopped to listen to the singing birds, or to look at the wild flowers that grew on every side. Now and then he stooped to pluck a violet, or a primrose, or a yellow but-ter-cup. Soon his hands were full of pretty blossoms. After a while he came to a little meadow in the midst of the wood. Some children were playing there. They were running here and there, and gathering the cow-slips that were blooming among the grass. It made the king glad to see the happy children, and hear their merry voices. He stood still for some time, and watched them as they played. Then he called them around him, and all sat down to-geth-er in the pleasant shade. The children did not know who the strange gentleman was; but they liked his kind face and gentle manners. "Now, my little folks," said the king, "I want to ask you some ques-tions, and the child who gives the best answer shall have a prize." Then he held up an orange so that all the children could see. "You know that we all live in the king-dom of Prussia," he said; "but tell me, to what king-dom does this orange belong?" The children were puz-zled. They looked at one another, and sat very still for a little while. Then a brave, bright boy spoke up and said,-- "It belongs to the veg-e-ta-ble kingdom, sir." "Why so, my lad?" asked the king. "It is the fruit of a plant, and all plants belong to that kingdom," said the boy. The king was pleased. "You are quite right," he said; "and you shall have the orange for your prize." He tossed it gayly to the boy. "Catch it if you can!" he said. Then he took a yellow gold piece from his pocket, and held it up so that it glit-tered in the sunlight. "Now to what kingdom does this belong?" he asked. Another bright boy answered quick-ly, "To the min-er-al kingdom, sir! All metals belong to that kingdom." "That is a good answer," said the king. "The gold piece is your prize." The children were de-light-ed. With eager faces they waited to hear what the stranger would say next. "I will ask you only one more question," said the king, "and it is an easy one." Then he stood up, and said, "Tell me, my little folks, to what kingdom do I belong?" The bright boys were puz-zled now. Some thought of saying, "To the kingdom of Prussia." Some wanted to say, "To the animal kingdom." But they were a little afraid, and all kept still. At last a tiny blue-eyed child looked up into the king's smiling face, and said in her simple way,-- "I think to the kingdom of heaven." King Frederick William stooped down and lifted the little maiden in his arms. Tears were in his eyes as he kissed her, and said, "So be it, my child! So be it." Next: THE BARMECIDE FEAST Previous: DOCTOR GOLDSMITH
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